Forgive me?
by Derek Chase
Summary: Sasuke has returned to the village and made up with everyone, much to Naruto's relief. However, Tsunade chooses to announce Hatake Kakashi as the 6th Hokage. This will force both the young jounins to change their view of their sensei. how will their close friendship change from this? Will Kakashi forget about them in his new position? Rated T (possible language in future, in case).
1. Ceremony for Hokage

Sasuke sighed... it had been a year now. After the war, he had returned to the village; he was pardoned from imprisonment, but he hadn't forgiven himself, so he spent the month in the jail cell anyway. His sensei Kakashi would be his Hokage from this day onward... he felt a surge of happiness for his teacher and guardian. Naruto had punched him a few times when Sasuke returned to Konohagakure no Sato(a punishment Sasuke willingly accepted) but had then pulled his friend into a warm hug. Of course, Naruto had forgiven him after a few tears of joy. Now, Sasuke had donned his jounin outfit. Naruto was waiting outside, similarly attired... strangely, though Sasuke was his closest friend, even he had not seen Naruto wearing this clothing ever before. Sasuke checked in the mirror one last time: he couldn't embarrass Kakashi... not today. He took a deep breath and walked out.

"BOO!" screamed Naruto from beside the door. Sasuke did not appear startled, though the blonde had slightly scared him. Sasuke looked at Naruto head to toe, as if they had just met. Then, he broke into a grin.

"You look skinnier..." he responded apathetically. Naruto put up a trauma act.

"You discovered my lack of muscle! I am secretly scrawny!" then he dropped it, with a smile. The other boy was forced to chuckle.

"You're not _that_ scrawny, just less than I thought..." Sasuke didn't want his best friend to feel bad about it. Naruto agreed.

"But seriously Sasuke you're way stronger, I mean look at those _abs!_" and Naruto started to sing: _ahh girl look at that body ahh girl look at that body ahh girl look at that body. _Sasuke looked at Naruto with a death glare, which terrified his fello jounin beyond measure. "I—I just wanted to say you were more muscular than me! Don't hurt me!" Sasuke nodded to calm down his frightened friend.

Sasuke patted Naruto on the back and led him with him toward the special grounds where their favorite teacher would soon be named leader of their village. They exited the jounin barracks and together breathed in the festival air.

"Ahh you can feel the joy... and to think from tomorrow on, we'll have to bow before our own sensei! Oh Kakashi-sensei... he was the best master we could ever have, wasn't he?" Sasuke asked, slightly out of character, but he _was_ happy for his sensei. Naruto's eyes watered; the blonde was always emotional. Sasuke was emotional, but only when necessary. He tried to comfort the shorter teenager. "Hey, hey, he'll still be our sensei. Don't cry, man." He patted Naruto on the back. The younger boy looked up and their eyes met.

"I know... I'm so happy for him." They walked over to a tall chunin—approximately Sasuke's height. The man jumped and turned around before Naruto could scare him; this made the blonde pout. "How do you do it, Iruka-sensei?!"

"I know you two better than you think; I know your footstep patterns," saying this, the chunin pulled his two former students. A bell sounded in the distance, louder than lightning, startling all the three of them. "Now go go! You're sensei is up there! It's time!" Iruka left them to sprint toward the grounds of Hokages. They reached just in time. Kakashi saw, and smiled under his mask—Sasuke noticed: he had deciphered his sensei's expressions. As Kakashi stood, all(including the two young jounins) fell to their knees and laid their foreheads on the ground. The ceremony had begun.


	2. Denounced!

**BTW this is my first fanfic, so it might suck... D= pls review review review and also this Chapter is in Naruto's POV(still 3rd person limited) so it may be different**

**Chapter 2: Denounced?!**

Naruto knelt beside the older jounin, copying him by putting his forehead on the ground. The elders of Konoha were scrutinizing Kakashi for a hokage candidate.

"Hmmm his build is strong and powerful," argued the male elder, "It says in his files that he has high strength, speed, agility, and intelligence. That would be ideal wouldn't it?"

"Yes... he does seem strong... capable to be a great leader," replied the old lady. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw a comic scene: Gai-sensei was weeping tears of happiness for his friend who was now his master. The entire ground beneath his lowered head was soaked. Suddenly, Naruto burst into laughter at this. Sasuke elbowed him in the ribs.

"Keep it down, will ya?" Sasuke whispered. Naruto couldn't control himself; he jumped up from his kneeling position, and burst into another round of uncontrollable horse-laughter. Sasuke's eyes widened. "Get down, man!" he yelled, still in a whisper. It was too late(not that there was any chance of Naruto's obedience). Everyone was silently watching Naruto, and for a long while this awkward silence was lengthened. Finally Naruto had calmed down, and he realized his situation.

"I—I'm sorry! Please continue, respected ones!" Both of the village elders frowned at him with contempt. The man spoke first,

"What insolence is this?! Audacious fool, I'll have your hide! Who is your sensei?" he flipped a few files then his face changed to disgust, "Oh so that's what it is. You're Kakashi's student? I thought so! If the fool cannot control his own STUDENT what business does he think he has with the VILLAGE?! I refuse to do this!" Saying this, he slammed the table and walked out. Naruto whimpered and looked to Kakashi, whose expression was unreadable. The lady nodded and followed the man out of the ceremonial grounds. At that moment, everyone cleared out of the grounds, leaving only Naruto and Sasuke.

Sasuke rose to his feet and stared straight at Naruto. Then without a word, he lightly pulled him back into the jounin barracks. Naruto then realized everything that happened.

"SASUKE WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" cried Naruto. "I betrayed sensei!" Sasuke did not respond, but did gently put both hands on his shoulders. He pulled Naruto in against his chest. And let him cry on his shoulder. He patted his back a few times. Naruto appreciated his friend's ability to come this close without feeling awkward.

"Hey... you wanna go see sensei? Make sure he's ok?" Sasuke asked gently. Naruto nodded frantically. He wiped his tears on his sleeve and nodded to Sasuke. Together, they walked down the halway to Kakashi's barrack. Sasuke knocked lightly... no response... he knocked again. Again, nothing. Naruto feared for the worst.

"S-suicide?!" he asked, filled with guilt. Sasuke glared at him, he hated this kind of negativity. Finally, Sasuke grew impatient and opened the door. He found Kakashi standing in the center of the room... shirtless. Both the students' faces looked like tomatoes. They were paralyzed with shock, staring at their sensei's abs. Then, Kakashi pulled on his jounin padding stuff.

"Naruto, Sasuke, what brings my two favorite students(and my two alive students) to my humble abode? Surely you have no trouble? Forgive me, I could not answer your knocks. I was in the bathroom. So, what is it?" Kakashi said it all, as if nothing had just happened. Slowly, both Sasuke and Naruto fell to their knees and lowered their heads. Kakashi's eyes widened. "What are you doing?! get up!" Naruto broke down into tears.

"I'M SO SORRY! FORGIVE ME SENSEI!" Sasuke was silent. Kakashi was silent as well.


	3. Forgiveness

**So... how was ze last chapter? review pleeeeeeeeeeeease! =D and i am depicting konoha as a ninja village in summer but a normal city during the school year.**

**Chapter 3: Forgiveness**

"PLEASE DON'T DISOWN ME, MASTER! FORGIVE ME PLEASE!" Naruto silently cried his heart out onto the wooden floor. Sasuke simply kneeled, no more, no less. But finally, he too spoke up.

"It wasn't just him, I couldn't calm him down. Forgive me, I am the true culprit," the black-haired teenager managed, with a shaky voice. Naruto's eyes widened. Yet another person was insulting himself for his own stupidity. He poured out more tears onto the wood floor.

"SILENCE!" Kakashi yelled, powerfully. This terrified both the students to silence. "It is neither of your faults. It just wasn't meant to happen. There is no such thing as coincidence, there is only the inevitable. **(That's an xxxHOLiC reference ;D) **Do not blame yourselves. Please." Naruto looks up, surprise visible on his face. He realizes how much sensei loves him **(not romantically)** and how he betrayed him. Tears stream out and he lowers his head again.

Then, Kakashi knelt and put a hand on Naruto's back.

"Please... don't bow to me now. Don't beg _me_ for forgiveness. It's _me_. Your Kakashi-sensei... unless you want me to be _only_ hokage..." Naruto frantically shakes his head. Not having Kakashi-sensei was unthinkable for him! "Then get up," he looked to Sasuke, "both of you." Then Kakashi helped the two of them up and hugged both of them. Weirdly, neither of them were at his height yet. Sasuke (the taller of the 2) was still at his chin, and Naruto was at his shoulder/chest. Then, Kakashi shooed them out, strictly. "You shouldn't be in your sensei's barrack!" The two jounin turned and ran for their lives. They panted after shutting the door. Naruto again hugged Sasuke and slightly laughed. Sasuke smiled.

"Thank god... he's alright. But we gotta make it up to him, bro!" Sasuke resolved, seriously. Naruto nodded. Sasuke had an idea:

"We'll get him the title of hokage by proving he trained us well. It'll take about 2 years, but it's worth it... you in?" Naruto hesitated... 2 years? That was a long time... _What was he thinking?!_ HE BROUGHT THIS UPON SENSEI! He suddenly felt shame for his thoughts, then unhesitatingly agreed.

"Brofist?" the two fists met, and then released in a split second. Naruto thought aloud. "So the school year is starting soon... a week maybe. So we'll do some stuff during the year and devote our summer to this?" Sasuke nodded, with one of his rare smiles.

"It's all worth it for our Kakashi... he deserves this. A lot more really." Sasuke smiled sadly, but then put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I gotta go, see ya in 10 minutes?" Naruto nodded. Then they both went back to their respective barracks.

* * *

||||||||Ten minutes later...|||||||||||

* * *

They both exited again promptly, in their usual attire at the exact same time. Sasuke smiled. He didn't know when he had grown so close and in-sync with Naruto; now he couldn't imagine life without the "dobe"... he remembered how he had treated the poor blonde before... he felt shame for that. A few seconds later, they walked out into the village again, side by side. Everything had returned to normal, as if nothing had happened in the last hour. Sasuke smiled and waved at Shikamaru, who had sent him a concerned glance, then walked on. "So, you wanna go to the waterfall?" Naruto nodded, now he was appalled about their in-syncness and how close they had become since the days of: "dobe" and "idiot"...

"You read my mind, dude." They sprinted to the huge waterfall with Hashirama and Madara. There, Sasuke stood dangerously at the edge. "B-Be careful, you'll fall." Sasuke ignored this warning and simply jumped off of the statue of Hashirama.

"SASUKE!" Naruto cried and ran to the edge. He saw Sasuke skillfully surfing down the waterfall with his bare feet and a little bit of chakra water style. _whew... he scared Naruto to death_. "thank god..." Naruto jumped after and less skillfully managed to reach the bottom and looked Sasuke in the eye. He gripped the older boy's shoulders "Never. Again. Got it?" He said in a commanding tone. He never usually ordered Sasuke, so Sasuke nodded, apologetically. Sasuke helped Naruto get back out and climb the statue. Then they got bored(the ceremony was at dawn, and it was only just noon) and Sasuke spoke.

"You wanna spar? Just to train and test each other?" Naruto nodded, willfully and rose.

"But only taijutsu without chakra." Sasuke accepted this limitation. And then, they began the fight. Naruto managed to hold out well for a while. He got in a few punches and strong kicks, but was eventually overwhelmed by the more capable fighter. Sasuke was stronger _and_ faster then him. Sasuke stopped attacking, seeing that his friend was drained. Naruto fell on his back, exhausted. Sasuke offered his hand to Naruto and helped him get up, patting his shoulder.

"You ok man? Are you _sure_ you're not hurt? Goo—"

Sasuke stopped abruptly as an arrowhead became visible, piercing out of his chest. He had been shot from the back, through the heart...


	4. My friend

**Herro, so last chapter was in 3rd person (omni). Now to ze Naruto perspective (and some Kakashi)**. **Please review review review review like Prescripto13 who is awesome.**

**Chapter 4: My friend**

Naruto dashed forward to catch Sasuke before he fell. The older boy's eyes were shut and the wound was bleeding like hell. The archer was nowhere to be seen... a hit-and-run obviously. Naruto looked back to Sasuke. He felt a little bit of him break as he thought his friend was dead.

"NOOO! SASUKE! PLEASE SPEAK TO ME!" No answer... nothing. Naruto put his head against Sasuke's chest to listen... there was still a heartbeat, he was not gone. "Oh thank you so much" Naruto muttered with a stream of tears. He wished Kakashi had been with them. He always knew how to heal one of them... Then Naruto remembered the process they all learned in the academy: strip, clean, cover. He began with the _strip_ part. He took off Sasuke's sleeveless black vest-like shirt. It was a struggle to get Sasuke's head through the hole. After this, Naruto stopped and stared.

"Dang... he's got _muscle_..." Then he came back to his senses, and tried to stay "calm" while he cleaned the wound. After this, he bandaged the torso fully with the bandages Sasuke told him to always carry for his own safety. Naruto sat there and waited. He hadn't put the shirt back on Sasuke, it was too much of a struggle. Then, a strange spirit appeared before the duo. He had been there the whole time, but now made his presence known. Naruto whimpered in fright, upon seeing the ghost... but then the ghost spoke.

"Do not be afraid, I will not hurt you. I simply have a question..." His voice was rough and deep. Very manly. Naruto nodded, thinking of the consequences of his refusal. "Why do you waste your time with the boy? Is it your business if he is hurt?" Naruto thought he knew the answer to this question. It seemed obvious, he had never really thought about it... why did he stay? Of course, he knew the answer.

"I stay because Sasuke is my friend... my best friend, and I would never let myself live if he were to die on my watch. That is my answer." Naruto had never spoken like this to Sasuke... or even to anyone else. Only once to Kakashi. The spirit disappeared, having found his answer. Naruto laid a hand on Sasuke's stomach and stayed beside his friend for hours upon hours, standing by what he had told the spirit.

Kakashi sat on his hard bed—it was far from fluffy. The last encounter had almost brought him to tears. They really cared that much about him... he really had grown fond of those two idiots.

Honestly, he hadn't cared that much about Hokage... he was a more laid back guy... he now leaned back against the wall with his hands behind his head and legs crossed. He _did_ have a strict, disciplined side, but that was only used when necessary. He was capable of hokage, but it was ... boring, simply put.

"I guess I kinda got my hopes up..." he muttered to himself, "meh, I dunno." It had been an exhausting day surprisingly and eh let his eyes shut for an hour or so...

When he woke up, it was dusk. The two imbeciles hadn't returned since 2 hours ago. A strange doubt crept into Kakashi's head... were they... ok?! It wasn't like them to disappear without warning him beforehand.

The silver-haired jounin leapt out of bed and donned his anbu armor—he had a feeling normal jounin padding wouldn't suffice for what he would have to face this time. He put the chest plate on. It was slightly small, but he now used a jutsu to fit it to his slightly larger chest muscles. He wore the arm paddings and kept the mask on his belt. He _did_ wear the signature red scarf, covering his mouth and nose. He to wear neither the cloak nor the cape. He dashed out of his door and sprinted down the hall.

Night had fallen. Sasuke had not awoken, and Naruto listened again... his heart was beating, he would awake. But Naruto felt the urge to leave. To abandon his only friend. He hated himself for having the audacity to think such morbid thoughts. He dismissed the feeling in an instant. He felt something stir and looked down. Sasuke's eye lids were stirring. Naruto dropped the kunai he was holding and held Sasuke's shoulders.

"Sasuke!" he said in a hoarse, shaky whisper, ending in his voice breaking. Sasuke moaned.

"What is it dobe...?" this forced a tiny smile from the blonde. "Did you... shoot me?"

"N-NO! YOU KNOW I COULDN'T, MAN!" Naruto was desperate to prove it. Sasuke nodded.

"So you bandaged me up, thank you, I owe you my life..." Naruto shook his head. He didn't owe him _anything_, they were friends. "And you took off my shirt... meh I don't really mind that much, you're practically my brother." Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke said the last bit... did he really... Naruto's eyes watered.

"B-Bro-Brother?" he managed in a whimper. Sasuke thought he had taken offense or something.

"No no, I meant that we're really close frie—"

Sasuke was stopped suddenly when Naruto threw his arms around him.

"I never knew you accepted me like that... thank you," his voice cracked again and he shed quite many tears on his "brother's" shoulder. He then realized that he too had thought of Sasuke in that way... it increased after the talk with the spirit. Sasuke returned the hug, and patted Naruto's back hard.

"Of course I do... you are my friend."


	5. School again

**Ok so I know the first few chapters were kinda... short. But the chapters will be getting longer, if you haven't noticed. Updates might be sort of slower, but at most 5 days so not so bad. ^_^ Please review if you have suggestions or anything (like Prescripto13 who is amazing).**

**Chapter 5: School again...**

Naruto and Sasuke held the hug for a minute almost. Then, the older black-haired shinobi saw their silver-haired sensei bounding toward them, fully suited in anbu armor.

"It's sensei," Sasuke enlightened the blonde. They broke their embrace and lowered their heads before the stronger jounin.

"Are you guys ok?!" Kakashi was definitely worried. Both students nodded formally. "What is thia? No formality" Both boys eased up and nodded to Kakashi. Naruto began and narrated the story to Kakashi. The sensei nodded... "The spirit energy drew me toward you guys. You're both ok right?" They nodded again and Sasuke grinned a little. "Let's get back to the village, eh?" The three jounin together ran back to the village and Kakashi parted ways with them. "Be careful, there could be more spirits... more harmful ones. I might not reach in time—"

"We knooooooooooooooow Kaka-sensei!" Naruto wailed. Kakashi nodded and ruffled Naruto's hair before closing his door. The two young men walked back to their barracks. "No... too early to sleep. It's still 6. Ya wanna do something?" Sasuke nodded and clapped Naruto's back. They left the barracks behind and went into the forest again, fully armed.

"Let's train ninjutsu. Match starts in 3... 2... 1... !" Sasuke yelled as he rapidly created hand symbols. Naruto faltered but grabbed a kunai and threw it at Sasuke. Sasuke ducked, but an explosive tag went off on the tree behind. This hit Sasuke and sent him flying at least 20 feet away... it was a strong explosive. Sasuke was sprawled on the ground, and Naruto seized the opportunity to create a clone and then a rasengan. He was about to bang the rasengan into Sasuke's back, but the other boy yelped and quickly evaded the swirling ball of death. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm and forced it into the ground, wasting the rasengan. Naruto puffed out air. Sasuke jumped backward and completed hand symbols. It was a Katon(fire) jutsu.

"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted. Naruto screamed and barely dodged the huge dragon fire ball. His hand was slightly singed, causing Sasuke to wince in terror, but seeing Naruto's grin, he too smiled. Then, Sasuke felt an arm around his neck. It was a shadow clone, about to choke the life out of him. Sasuke used his immense superior strength to flip it off of him and break its spine. Naruto's eyes widened in shock. Sasuke faltered. Had that been the _real_ Naruto?! Horror took his mind... but then Naruto destroyed the clone he had killed. The real Naruto was still standing before him. Now, Naruto was rapidly making hand symbols. A whole _50_ clones appeared around him! Sasuke's eyes widened. "N-Naruto!" He called out. All the clones charged at the lone jounin. Sasuke used his impressive combat skills to melee fight many of them. He easily defeated 20 clones, leaving 30. He threw an explosive tag on a kunai to buy some time. He rapidly created hand symbols and in an instant his chidori was activated. He was not able to use sensei's improved _Raikiri_ yet, but this would suffice. He used it to stab through 5 more, but then, having slowed them, he shaped the chidori into a long sword. He used this like a "ray of doom", killing clones with a single touch. But it was dangerous. Which one was Naruto? He couldn't kill his friend. He used his Sharingan to identify Naruto behind a tree, hiding... pfft that coward. Sasuke destroyed all the clones.

Naruto looked around the tree. That was it?! All of them destroyed?! He had started to fear Sasuke... no that was ridiculous. He just respected him more. He jumped out from behind the tree, attempting a rasengan. Sasuke withdrew his chidori sword and made it a normal chidori. Then he drew his katana. Naruto made a clone and they tried a rasengan... but... he was out of chakra... Before the older ninja could slit his throat, the blonde withdrew the clone and threw his hands up.

"I surrender!" he called out, "Please don't hurt me." The second part was more of begging for mercy. Sasuke sheathed his sword and put his arm around Naruto.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, just running low on chakra" He chuckled. They walked back and parted ways to their own barracks. They would sleep for the night...

And tomorrow would be school again.


	6. Day 1, Periods 1 and 2(Intro)

**Hello, this is chapter 6 and technically a new "part" of the story. Like I said in the last chapter, Konoha will be a normal city during the school year. By the way, both Naruto and Sasuke are entering 10th grade(sophomore) at 15 (naruto) and 15 1/2 (sasuke).**

**Chapter 6: Day 1, Periods 1 and 2(Introduction to Konoha Hi)**

_(Naruto POV to start off—still 3rd person but limited to Naruto._ Might be more 3rd person later on though._)_

It was unicorns vs pegasi in the ultimate battle of cuteness... the unicorn then revealed its secret weapon: the glitter horn! The pegasus recoiled, and soon revealed the glow wings it had concealed for so long—a hand on Naruto's stomach woke him from his dreams.

"Wh-who won...?" he muttered through his closed mouth. The person who was touching him chuckled.

"Wake up, Naruto," said a voice the blonde instantly recognized as Sasuke, "now." The boy complained and threw a punch at the intruding arm. Sasuke persisted in lightly hitting Naruto on the stomach and chest to wake him up, until the sleepy dobe sat up.

"Ok Ok I'm up... guh do I _have to?!_" Sasuke chuckled... the way Naruto whined and his innocent look on his face made him look like a baby.

"Of course! School's starting in ... 10 minutes!" Sasuke exclaimed. Naruto leapt out of bed and hugged Sasuke.

"Thanks you're a life saver!" Sasuke sprinted back to his barrack. Naruto locked his door and took out the uniform he had bought a few days ago. It was one size larger than last year. He quickly put on the black pants and white shirt. He threw on his tie and hurriedly but properly tied it straightly. He pulled on his black suit coat and put on his black belt with shiny silver buckle. He left his suit unbuttoned in a hurry. He ran out to meet Sasuke who is wearing the exact same clothes as him. The wood barack hallway had turned into a modernized apartment corridor. Sasuke clapped his friend's back.

"Let's go. Motorcycle's outside. Wait... your thing is unbuttoned too... meh looks good." Naruto acknowledged Sasuke's comment but still both of them buttoned their suits. Sasuke dashed down the stairs to the bottom floor and flew out the door, with Naruto hot on his tail. Sasuke jumped on his sparkling red motorcycle. "Get on!" Naruto jumped on behind Sasuke. "Ready?" Sasuke asked, not wanting to hurt Naruto.

"Yeah let's go," the blonde answered. Naruto watched from over Sasuke's shoulder as the raven-haired boy drove at speeds higher than Naruto thought possible. In about two minutes, they had arrived at Konoha High. Sasuke parked the motorcycle in a random spot and got off. Naruto looked at his watch... phew they were still 5 minutes early... oh wait... his watch was 4 minutes slow... oh god. "Sasuke! We have one minute!"

Sasuke understood without clarification. They ran side by side through the courtyard and hallway and into their homeroom. They had been placed together this year. Sasuke chose a seat in the middle of the room, and the blonde settled for the vacant seat next to his best friend... no, his brother. Just as he sat down, the teacher walked in. It was Asuma-sensei, and he gave a brief introduction to the sophomores. He said some random stuff about "respecting others' lockers and property", but it was clear from his tone that he didn't care about what he was saying. As soon as he finished, his face lit up.

"Now: algebra." nearly everyone groaned in the class, except Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba, and Gaara. Shikamaru was interested but... well he never showed it. An hour later, Naruto got up at the same time as the rest of the class and gathered all the books he had just received. For some reason, in their homeroom(algebra) they had received textbooks for all their other classes. He put them all in his bat which he held in one hand. Sasuke was waiting for him.

"Let's go, we can't go to our lockers until after second period. We're probably the only ones who haven't seen them yet..." Naruto looked down in shame as his friend said this. "No no it's not your fault, you just slept a little, it's ok." They walked out of Asuma's room and Naruto inquired.

"So what do you have second period? I have biology now." Naruto noted from memory. Sasuke grinned. Who would have known, the blonde was taking school seriously...

"Me too. Let's go before Ibiki-sensei has our hides." Sasuke started to sprint across the hall, with Naruto close behind. They went around a corner through another courtyard(yes, it's a big school) and into Ibiki's room where they were met with another lecture on the beauty of science. The bell rang before anything could be taught and everyone left the classroom. Naruto found his locker: number 157. He entered the combo and opened the door. He felt a familiar chuckle behind him. The blonde turned quickly and faced Sasuke.

"What are the odds... Naruto my locker is two away from yours..." Naruto's eyes widened.

"How—what—ok." Naruto responded, amazed. Sasuke opened his easily and neatly dumped his books inside.

"Hey so what classes do you have?" Sasuke asked, leaning on the locker next to Naruto's. The shorter boy took out a crumpled sheet of paper. It read as follows:

**Student Name: **Uzumaki Naruto

**Student ID number: **563791098

**Age:** 15

**Schedule:**

_First Period(8:00-9:00): _Algebra

_Second Period(9:00-10:00): _Biology

_Locker Break(10:00-10:15)_

_Third Period(10:15-11:15): _Ninja History

_Fourth Period(11:15-12:15): _PE

_Lunch Break(12:15-1:30)_

_Fifth Period(1:30-2:30): _Free Period

_Sixth Period(2:30-3:30): _Literature

_Seventh Period(3:30-5:00): _Geometry

"I have history now... hey that's Kakashi-sensei isn't it?"

"Yeah... our schedules are pretty similar, I have history now as well." Sasuke took out his schedule which was in fact nearly identical to Naruto's.

**Student Name: **Uchiha Sasuke

**Student ID number: **563791097

**Age:** 15

**Schedule:**

_First Period(8:00-9:00): _Algebra

_Second Period(9:00-10:00): _Biology

_Locker Break(10:00-10:15)_

_Third Period(10:15-11:15): _Ninja History

_Fourth Period(11:15-12:15): _PE

_Lunch Break(12:15-1:30)_

_Fifth Period(1:30-2:30): _Free Period

_Sixth Period(2:30-3:30): _Art

_Seventh Period(3:30-5:00): _Geometry

Sasuke grinned. "Even my ID is only one less than yours. I swear sensei did this on purpose." He checked his watch. Still 10:05... 10 minutes to kill. Naruto had closed his locker with his books for history. Sasuke held the same materials in his hands.

"Hey let's meet up with Kiba and Gaara. Maybe even Shikamaru. Eh?" the blonde suggested.

"Sure, of course. We haven't seen them since the middle of summer." And the two walked off to meet up with their friends.


	7. Break

I took a short break because of school and stuff, but that's over now. Chapters will take about a week to be published now. Please review.

**Chapter 7: Day 1-Break(meeting some friends and remembering recent tragedies)**

_(POV-Kiba)_

The brown-haired boy closed his locker with his history book and notebook in his arms. He grinned.

"Hmm I wonder where Naruto is... I should find him, shouldn't I Akamaru?" The huge dog yelped in agreement. Kiba got up from his knees since he had a bottom locker. He looked around... neither Naruto nor Sasuke were anywhere to be seen... "ACK!" Kiba yelled in shock as he felt two arms around his shoulders from the back. They squeezed his chest and he felt a toned torso against his own back.

"How've you been Kiba?!" Naruto asked, after releasing the hug. Kiba grinned at Naruto and nodded.

"I'm fine. Nothing much over summer since we last talked. You?" he inquired. Then he remembered... "I-I'm so sorry about Kakashi-sensei..."

Naruto nodded but soon recovered from momentary sadness. "Oh you know how I just hugged you? Are you ok man?" He asked with genuine concern.

"Of course of course." saying this, Kiba threw a single hand around Naruto's shoulders and they walked down the hall toward the history room. "So Naruto, you got history now too?" seeing the boy nod, Kiba continued: "well at least we have one common period, eh? So where's the big guy? Sasuke?"

"Oh he's looking for Shikamaru. We'll meet up in the history room. So," Naruto put his hand behind Kiba's back, "Are you alright since... Hana's death?" He looked at Kiba who was beside him.

Kiba took his arm off of Naruto and nodded with almost no hesitation. Almost. Naruto pulled him into another hug.

"We're all here for you."

"I know, man... I know."

_(POV-Shikamaru)_

"What a drag... school is such a pain..." Shikamaru moaned as he straightened his tie. He banged his locker shut and leaned against it, closing his eyes. He remembered the summer... and the tragic death of Shikaku, his father. A tear rolled down his face. He quickly wiped it off and started walking down the hall. But no matter how he tried, he couldn't do it. He stopped walking and stood in the middle of the hallway, as if paralyzed. Then a familiar hand fell on his shoulder. He turned to face his friend... one of his only friends.

Sasuke pulled him into a hug. "You ok?" Shikamaru managed to let out a shaky "mm" of affirmation.

Sasuke sensed his sadness and tightened the hug, patting Shikamaru's bony back. He felt his shoulder was moist from Shikamaru's tears. The boy was still slightly stiff and rigid, uncomfortable to cry in public(he didn't do that. he just didn't.) even though the only one around was one of his closest friends.

"It's ok, it's ok, let it out. It's ok, don't be afraid. I'm your friend... it's ok."

Hearing this, Shikamaru lost all the rigidity and tightened the hug more, sobbing uncontrollably, further moistening the shoulder of Sasuke's suit. After about 2 minutes, the flow of tears stopped and the two friends released the embrace. Shikamaru smiled. Genuinely, without any sarcasm.

"Sasuke, my friend, it's been a while."

"Yeah I can't believe we haven't met in 2 months now. You ok man?" he put his hand on Shikamaru's shoulder.

"Yeah... I'm sorry about this just now. Forgive me."

"Don't worry about it." Sasuke reassured Shikamaru.

Shikamaru again pulled the taller boy into a hug, this time of happiness.

"Thanks man. I owe you."

"Shikamaru, I'm ashamed. You've made me a stranger."

"WHA—Sasuke! No—" Shikamaru's eyes widened with terror.

"Friends don't _owe_ friends!"

"Oh... wow bro you scared me." the shadow-nin scowled.

"Hey I'm sorry I'm sorry." He said, pulling his friend next to him with one arm around his shoulders. "So where are you going 3rd period?"

"World History. Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke muttered something about coincidences then walked down the hall, his arm still around Shikamaru's skinny frame.

"Naruto and I are going there too."

"So is Kiba."

"Hey so I was in Algebra for Period 1 and _Gaara_ was there too. I thought he was Suna, what's he doing in Konoha Hi? I mean he's a friend and all but... it's confusing. I thought I'd ask someone smart like you." He grinned at Shikamaru, saying the last part. His voice hinting at admiration.

"Hey man you're not so bad yourself. Anyway, I hear he's transferred along with Kankuro and Temari. They have more friends here than there anyway."

"But he's the... Kazekage..."

"Oh he gave it up. To Baki-sama. He said it was 'a sacrifice he was more than willing to make for our precious friendships.'" Sasuke was taken aback.

"He _sacrificed_ kage-ship for _us_?! I never... thought of him that way... emotional moment... and I'm good now."

Shikamaru smiled and saw the clock.

"Well it's 10:10. We should get to class before your sensei has our skins."

Sasuke nodded, unbuttoning his suit coat, but not taking it off. "Let's go man. We'll catch up with the others outside class." Shikamaru nodded and put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

_(Omniscient POV)_

World History was in the secondary building, across two courtyards and 3 grassy fields. Sasuke and Shikamaru dashed across the second grassy field, Sasuke's suit jacket was pushed back by the speed and Shikamaru grinned. From the other side, Kiba and Naruto dashed across their last grassy field, Naruto's unbuttoned suit also pushed back from his waist. The four met at the entrance to the building.


	8. Kakashi and Gai back to back

**I know I took a really long time to update this story but... well I kinda forgot about it. Kinda embarrassing. And I'm pretty sure no one reads this anymore so I'm just gonna continue for the heck of it. If you **_**actually do read this**_ **then please review. Please. Please. Did I say please?**

**I actually forgot the disclaimer upto now... eh... awkward moment.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto: Shippuden.**

Chapter 8: Kakashi and Gai back to back.

_(POV-Sasuke)_

Sasuke reached the building and leaned against the wall barely panting. His best friend however did nothing to conceal his fatigue.

"I feel so tired! Why couldn't they put the stupid building next to the main building?!" the blonde managed to say between gasps of breath. The Uchiha met Kiba's eyes.

"Kiba." He grinned and looked at the dog-tamer. Kiba clapped him on the shoulder.

"It's been way too long man," the brown-haired shinobi exclaimed before slinging his arm around Sasuke's shoulders. "Anyway since we're all in Kakashi-sensei's class now lez go. We're already gonna die." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow then checked the time on his phone. His eyes widened and he showed an expression he rarely showed—terror.

"We're 5 minutes late! How did time pass so fast?! And this is _Kakashi_-sensei we're dealing with! I swear he'll beat the life out of us now!" Sasuke's eyes widened, as did Naruto's. Kiba maintained his grin. "Kiba! How can you smile at a situation like this?!" The scrawny shadow-user yelled.

"Well you know the funny part is..." the others listened closely to his explanation. "That you guys are still standing here."

Upon hearing this, Sasuke bolted in the door and down the hall and toward the classroom. _Please please please please no... I can't lose my rep with my own sensei on the first day! Naruto, Kiba, and Shikamaru are understandable... but he trusts me on these things!_ The frightened teen straightened himself in front of the door, straightening his tie and buttoning his jacket before gulping, taking a deep breath and opening the door. He was met with silence. He stood still, planted to the ground with fear of his sensei. His eyes scanned the room for the silver-haired jounin until they rested upon Kakashi's figure sitting on a chair in the back of the room. The boy couldn't read his sensei's expression: that terrified him further. He trembled as his eyes met his mentor's.

"Oh how _kind_ of you to grace us with your _presence_ Sasuke. Do come in." The man's low-pitched tone brought a whimper out of the usually brave Uchiha, but really who could blame the kid. You should be fine if Kakashi was yelling—he's never really angry when he yells—but when Kakashi lowered his tone... someone died. Sasuke gulped again and stepped forward into the room. He found a seat in the middle row with a few empty seats around it. He took a seat and put his books down as everyone stared at him. All except his master shot him looks of sympathy. Kakashi looked at Sasuke in silence. After a minute of this, the younger managed to say in a wavering voice.

"F-Forgive me s-sensei... I lost track of time..." He trembled in fear. He looked at the wooden floor as the teacher stood and walked over, towering over the Uchiha, who now tried to meet his gaze.

"..." The older man walked to the front of the room, shaking his head in disappointment. This caused his student to feel like a failure.

At that exact moment, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kiba walked in. They first looked for Sasuke(he had run off alone), upon seeing him Naruto cleared his throat. "Er sensei... I kinda lost track of time." Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"No problem. Sit down, we'll start the lecture now. Sasuke's jaw dropped and he stared back and forth from Naruto to Kakashi and back. Naruto shrugged at him and took the seat behind him. Kiba sat next to Sasuke, and Shikamaru sat beside Naruto. Sasuke scowled at Naruto and then looked up to Kakashi who started giving an introduction of history.

"And since I really have better things than to talk to you brats all day long, rest of the period is free." The silver-haired man walked to the back of the classroom and sat down at his desk.

_(POV-Shikamaru)_

"Geez that guy... sometimes I wonder..." the thin shinobi shook his head disapprovingly. "Well History is kind of a pain..." Kiba, Naruto, and Sasuke all stared at him. "... what? Oh I said it again huh? Sorry it's just really hard to get rid of the habit. I swear I'm trying." Shikamaru looked down shamefully. Kiba tapped his shoulder.

"Ey you're doing surprisingly well bro. Don't worry about occasional slip-ups." Kiba's voice was encouraging. It sounded weird to the shadow-nin.

"Thanks man."

Sasuke fully turned to face Naruto and Shikamaru. Kiba did the same. The Uchiha smiled and said matter-of-factly: "Now that we've all met, we have to discuss something... Gaara." Naruto nodded as his best friend continued on, "He's one of our best friends... he cares a lot about us and even sacrificed his... position as Kazekage for us... The least we can do to repay him is to make sure he never regrets his decision. Not for a second. He tries to avoid a group and barely talks to us, so we've got to get him to open up to us. He's one of us." Not a single argument was raised. Kiba bowed his head in respect.

"Giving up Kage-ship is no light choice. I agree with you Sasuke." The dog-ninja said.

"Don't forget about me guys." The blond jinchuriki whined. Sasuke smiled and patted him on the arm. They all looked at Shikamaru.

"... What are we talking about again?" the group sighed with frustration. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Of course I'm with you guys. He's my friend too."

_(POV-Naruto)_

Just then, a voice which seemed to come out of nowhere spoke. "Yo. 'sup you guys." Naruto looked around in confusion, then he felt a hand on his shoulder. A familiar hand. Naruto stood up and spinned around.

"Gaara! Hey man! I heard you gave up your position to be friends with us!" The red-head nodded.

"Dude there's nothing I would choose over being friends with you guys. Never forget that." Naruto felt a tear forming in his eye. He quickly wiped it with his jacket sleeve. He stared at Gaara's face then pulled him into a warm embrace. Gaara smiled as he heard a sniffle. "Hey... you alright?" Naruto nodded, while still hugging his fellow jinchuriki. Gaara hugged back. Sasuke took a deep breath.

"The last time we met... we were fighting to the death. And I... injured you quite a bit then. I hope you can forgive me, my friend. I beg you." Sasuke said all this with a serious tone. Gaara released Naruto's hug and looked to his former enemy with a smile.

"Forgive what? It is enough for me to know that my friend has chosen the path of good along with me. I need nothing more. And please don't beg me, I am but your friend." Sasuke smiled as he heard this. Gaara jumped as the bell rang suddenly. Gaara's expression sends Kiba into a laughing fit. Shikamaru actually grins. Naruto tries his best not to laugh. Even Sasuke covers his mouth with one hand. "Oi don't laugh. I was genuinely scared! Ugh you guys are impossible... but I love ya for it."

_(POV-Omniscient)_

With that, they gathered their stuff and headed out of the room. Kakashi glanced at Sasuke one last time, sending him another guilt trip. Naruto and Sasuke parted ways with Kiba and Shikamaru who had Art fourth period. Naruto and Sasuke had PE now, along with Gaara.

"Well gives us more time to hang out with the epitome of awesome." Thus saying, Naruto put his arm around Gaara's shoulders and the other around Sasuke's neck.

"Bro I'm not that awesome. I'm quite a disappointme—what is that?" Gaara's face paled as he saw something up ahead, terrifying enough to get even Kakashi's attention... but that was easier now that he had given up Icha Icha at Sasuke's plea. Naruto chuckled, and Sasuke grinned.

"That's just Lee and Gai-sensei having their hourly emotional moment."

"I should have stayed in Suna... I wish I never saw that." At that moment, Gai noticed the trio.

"Ah the locker room is that way for you guys! I know this is the first day but I'm not holding back! Youth only lasts so long!" Sasuke muttered something under his breath along the lines of _Too much energy..._

_(POV-Gaara)_

They made their way to their lockers and changed into their gym stuff. Gaara surprisingly had a 6 pack. You could hardly tell from his skinny appearance. His frame was the same as Naruto's. Gaara put a hand on Sasuke's back and they walked(with Naruto) to the track outside. Gai-sensei was doing some weird poses when they got out of the rooms. The mentor didn't seem to notice them.

"Gai-sensei... please..." Sasuke said to the bushy-browed man, who immediately became self-conscious.

"Er sorry. Well! Now that everyone is here... DROP AND GIVE ME 3500!" The whole class groaned. Gaara's eyes were wide.

"H-He-He's kidding right?!" He found his answer when Sasuke fell to a push-up position. _Damn it taijutsu just isn't my thing. Strength isn't my focus. _Lee of course was enthusiastically pushing up and down. Gaara struggled to keep up. Somehow, 3500 pushups were behind him. His biceps felt sore as hell. He stood and looked at his friends with a frightened look at what sensei may have in store for him next. Thankfully the rest of the class took too long, so the pushups took up the whole hour. The trio changed back into the uniform. Gaara panted more than normal. Sasuke worried.

"Gaara... you ok?"

"I'm just not used to working out. It's nothing." Sasuke accepted the answer and wiped the sweat off the redhead's forehead. Gaara started sweating so hard, he ended up unbuttoning his suit jacket. "Well finally we can eat. I'm pretty hungry from the pushups." Naruto nodded, slightly recovered from exhaustion. Gaara put an arms around Sasuke's shoulders and another around Naruto's. "Lez go bros."

**And that's the end of Chapter 8. Gaara has developed his personality much further in the time between Shippuden and this fic. He is much less formal and stuff now. Sasuke gets worried about trivialities when it comes to school and senseis as you can see.**


End file.
